Peace is a Lie
by His Majesty the Emperor
Summary: This is the bedrock of the philosophy of the Sith. The strong deserve to rule because it is their birthright. The strong prove their strength through conflict and war. It is in the fields of battle, both on the front lines and in the political arena that I and my fellow Sith prove our superiority.


_Yet another "Palpatine thinking about stuff" fic brought to you by His Majesty the Emperor. This one takes place shortly after the Clone Wars episode "Duchess of Mandalore". As always Star Wars is not owned by me, therefore I am not making anything off of this. Please leave a review!_

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Despite what many of the great philosophers might believe this life is not difficult or mysterious. The universe and all the life therein is guided by a few fundamental principles. The sooner one accepts these principles the sooner one can adapt to their place in existence. The rules are as follows.

The strong devour the weak. The question why is irrelevant.

Those who are weak deserve only subjugation or extermination.

The strong alone deserve to rule supreme.

But how can we determine who is strong and who is weak? The answer to this question is just as simple as the rules that guide this universe: conflict. Conflict has always weeded out the weak and unfit while simultaneously insuring that the strong are further strengthened by their baptism of blood. History and evolution teach us this, plain and simple. The strong deserve to survive, the weak do not.

This is the bedrock of the philosophy of the Sith. The strong deserve to rule because it is their birthright. The strong prove their strength through conflict and war. It is in the fields of battle, both on the front lines and in the political arena that I and my fellow Sith prove our superiority.

These are the rules of the Sith, and I have taken them near and dear to my heart ever since my induction into the Order of the Sith Lords.

This being the case it is only natural that I should find myself disliking Duchess Satine of Mandalore.

A Mandalorian pacifist.

Centuries ago the very idea of a Mandalorian being opposed to violence and war would be completely impossible to fathom. In the ancient past the Mandalorians were brutal conquerors who ravaged and plundered the worlds of the Outer Rim. The ancient Sith of yesteryear had respected these Mandalorian crusaders, for the bloodlust and cruelty they exhibited rivaled our own. In our wars against the Jedi and their beloved Republic the Mandalorians had been great allies. But those days are over. The Old Sith are extinct and the warrior clans of Mandalore are no more. A new government came to power, one devoted to the principles of peace and mutual understanding. If I wasn't a stronger man I would vomit in disgust.

The Sith Code is quite explicit on the subject of peace:_ Peace is a lie_. It is an illusion used to control and manipulate the unwashed masses into obedience. Peace, by its very nature, is an absence of conflict. And that is simply physically impossible. There will always be conflict. There will always be those who take advantage of others. There will always be those who kill and steal. There will always be those who prey on those who are weaker than them.

Conflict is ingrained in our psyches and makes us who we are as sentient creatures. To deny this is to be unnatural. What disturbs me the most is that Satine actually believes the drivel she preaches. She truly believes that violence never solved anything and that any conflict can be avoided through diplomacy.

A more foolish and deluded woman I have never met.

Violence has solved more things in history than nonviolence ever has, that is an undeniable fact. Even the Jedi, fools though they may be, admit that one must take up arms to get what one wants when all else fails. When the Sith sought to over throw the Republic and rule the galaxy they did not walk into the Executive Office Building and ask the sitting Supreme Chancellor of the day politely if he and the Senate would be ever so kind to bow down before them and accept the Sith as their rulers. NO. They sought to overthrow the Republic through sheer, brute force. Naked aggression is the only universally recognized language. No living thing would ever respect a self-proclaimed authority figure unless that authority had power and a willingness to use that power against others.

The facts are that pacifism only works as long as everyone plays by the same rules. And that is impossible. No matter how hard you try to educate your children, no matter how indoctrinated a society becomes to the notions of peace, there will always be people who refuse to fit into the mold. There will always be those who rebel against the accepted morals that a society claims to hold dear.

But despite all of this evidence Satine manages to cling to the idea that peace is the only path in life. But of all of the New Mandalorians she seems to be alone in this delusion. Her dear friend Governor Vizsla proved himself to be the leader of the Death Watch, her arch enemies, the very terrorists who wish to return Mandalore to its glorious warrior ways and wish Satine dead. Her other dear friend, Senator Merrik turned out to be a Death Watch sympathizer who tried to shoot her. But despite these betrayals she still clings hopelessly to her foolish ideals. Even now, her last real friend, Prime Minister Almec plots behind her back, seeking her downfall and his own ascension as the most powerful person on Mandalore.

I wonder, will she finally crack at this betrayal yet to come, or will she continue on, blindly believing in the goodness of the common man? She dreams of utopia, and while she dreams her society crumbles. Corruption runs rampant through the halls of government. Death squads roam the streets, blowing up buildings and gunning down civilians. Her dream of a peaceful Mandalore is disintegrating in front of her, and yet she continues to dream. Her idealism has blinded her to the truth. Her radical commitment to her ideals has resulted in lax administration and execution of law. Her people have taken advantage of her unwillingness to utilize force to bring them into line. Her weakness has invited stagnation. Anarchy will follow.

I admit I have tried to speed up what is clearly the inevitable fall of her government. I have had Count Dooku fund the Death Watch and supply them with the weapons they need to wage their war. And they will have their war. The Duchess is losing support. The people yearn for strong leadership. Soon Vizsla and his Death Watch shall be strong enough to overthrow the New Mandalorians. Duchess Satine will fall. I have foreseen it.

I just wish I could be there. When the time comes, I wish I could be there as the Duchess is overthrown. I can see it now, in my mind's eye. I can see her dragged from her Palace and through the dirt in the streets. I see her beaten, insulted, denounced, and humiliated by the very people she tried to serve.

I wonder though, as she is thrown before the firing squad, as the blaster bolts rip through her body, as the light leaves her eyes, will she finally realize that nothing has come of her pacifist rhetoric? Will she recognize her ideals as the hollow fantasies that they really are? As she leaves this life, will she ask herself that all important question, "Why? Why did this happen?"

And while I will unfortunately not be able to attend the execution, I feel that I have the perfect answer to the question she has yet to ask. The strong devour the weak. The question why is irrelevant.


End file.
